Five contractors are in the hunt to build a new £45m regional training campus for Network Rail in Basingstoke.

The Enquirer understands that a shortlist has been drawn-up for the scheme consisting of Carillion, BAM, Kier, Morgan Sindall and Mace.

Contractors big and small welcomed the public to 75 sites across the UK today as part of the Open Doors Weekend, which continues tomorrow.

The programme, backed by Construction News and organised by the UK Contractors Group, the Industry Training Board and Sector Skills Council, CITB-Construction Skills, the Chartered Institute of Building and the Considerate Constructors Scheme, is intended to raise the industry’s public profile and encourage people to begin careers in construction.

One of those sites is Kier’s Winsford E-ACT Academy school site in Cheshire. Project manager Tony Harrison said: “It’s fantastic to be able to offer people the chance to see what we do and see the projects as they’re being built. Working on a construction site can be challenging but it’s extremely exciting and rewarding as well. I hope that members of the public get a sense of that and a better understanding of what’s involved by coming onto our sites.”

Phil Hogan, T. D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, has announced that he has given sanction to Longford Community Resources Ltd. to approve funding of €199,500 to Longford Revamp Homes Ltd. to provide training in building conservation skills in Co. Longford.

This funding, provided under the Training and Information measure of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013, will provide training for 30 people in Longford. The training will cover building conservation and traditional construction skills, including lime plastering, roofing, stonework and an introduction to traditional roofing, which will be learned through practical work situations on a construction site as well as in a workshop and classroom environment.

An exciting new initiative which enables apprentices to complete a full apprenticeship programme by working with a number of different employers was launched yesterday by CITB-ConstructionSkills.

The Shared Apprenticeship Scheme is a new skills intervention which has been set up to address some of the difficulties faced by employers  who want to support further skills development while working on regional contracts but are not in a position to offer a full term apprenticeship.

No one could deny the outstanding achievement of the BMD Seymour Whyte Joint Venture at this year's Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) Excellence Awards. The team earned numerous awards including the prestigious Employer Commitment to Training Excellence Award (over $20 million turnover).

Judging panels were impressed by the joint venture's commitment to development of individual workers in all areas of the project, and the creation of networks of highly functioning teams.

A housing association is offering residents the chance to boost their career with a free construction training course. Merton Priory Homes has joined forces with South Thames College to offer residents looking to build a career in the construction industry courses in plastering, carpentry, painting and decorating.

The state-of-the-art building will provide nearly 1,000 square metres of modern workshop space along with well-equipped classrooms. Building work has started on the stand-alone extension to the college’s construction academy, home to around 700 students, and should be finished by May next year.

John Malone, head of CRC’s construction and engineering faculty, said: “We will be able to offer more courses in bricklaying and plastering, with purpose-built areas for students to train in.

Lonza Wood Protection is officially launching its new Continuing Professional Development (CPD) portal on Friday, November 2.

Lonza Wood Protection has offered CPD technical presentations for some time, delivered by the Lonza sales team who have a wealth of experience within the industry and extensive product knowledge. Architects are required to complete 35 hours of CPD, including 20 hours from 10 core topics, in order to retain their chartered status with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

CONSTRUCTION apprentices are getting valuable hands-on experience thanks to a link up between a training company and city schools.

Apprentices studying with Plymouth's Construction Training South West have been working on real projects in the community.

The apprentices are awaiting placements with building firms and their trainers hit on the idea of helping out organisations that need work being done gratis.

This autumn, the public is being offered an exclusive opportunity to have a look behind the scenes at some of Britain’s most exciting construction sites.

Ninety one  construction sites across England, Scotland and Wales will be opening their doors on the 9th and 10th of November for  guided tours as part of a pilot project – ‘Open Doors’  - from the construction industry.

Open Doors aims to present construction in an engaging and interesting way and showcase the dynamic, exciting career opportunities that it offers. The project will also demonstrate the importance of construction to both the national and regional economies.